Documentary that shines light on poverty to make NE debut in Framingham in April

Monday

Mar 17, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Chris BergeronDaily News Staff

FRAMINGHAM - Living in a local shelter with a child due in April, Ann T. had no idea how she would feed her first born while trying to get back on her feet, until she called Mass211.Since calling the human service hot line managed by United Way of Tri-County, the 20-year-old South Shore native, who asked not to use her full name, has lined up public assistance to feed and care for her expected son while she interns at a local business to earn money to rent an apartment and start a new life.Two years ago, independent filmmakers Harry and Joe Gantz decided to make a documentary about middle-class Americans in Oregon who, like Ann T., sought help from their 211 social service hotline when job loss, financial problems or sickness sent them tumbling into poverty and despair.For five months the Gantz brothers and a small film crew followed eight families coping with long-term unemployment, a husband's death, lack of health care and homelessness that devastated adults and children.Harry Gantz said he and his brother wanted to shoot a documentary that explored "the human toll’’ of the national recession to "break down stereotypes about people who receive social services.’’"For many Americans, the common view is that poverty is ‘their fault.'" he said by phone from Los Angeles. "We wanted to show the personal side of this new group of middle-class citizens who’d never before sought social services and just wanted to get jobs and get back their lives.’’The Gantzes' film "American Winter" provides both a harrowing and intimate look into lives of everyday people desperate to avoid poverty, and a grim cautionary tale for many across MetroWest who could be sharing their fate with a little bad luck.After a viewing, Paul Mina, president and chief program officer of United Way of Tri-County, felt the 90-minute documentary "could change everything we think about America’s poor."He has arranged to host its New England premiere Wednesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. at Bose Corporation in Framingham and invited Harry Gantz to introduce it. The following morning, Gantz will be the featured speaker at UWTC’s Annual Recognition Breakfast at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel.A suggested $10 donation is requested for tickets to the screening. Since seating is limited, reservations should be made by April 7 by calling 508-872-3291 or visiting www.uwotcamericanwinter.Mina said he was moved by the fact that each of the families in the film had an exact need for things they’d once had – a job, stable housing, health care, heating and utilities – that they’d unexpectedly lost and were trying to regain."They almost all said the same thing: ‘Give me an opportunity to work and I can support my family,'" he said. "A lot of people don’t like to admit they’re one stop from being in the same situation."While "American Winter" focuses on Oregon, where the tech bust of the early 2000s cost around 50,000 jobs, Mina said many Bay State residents face hard times due to "under-employment,’’ - "a word our leadership doesn’t want to use."The United Way of Tri-County operates the Mass211 hotline in a fourth-floor call center where specialists field calls from across the state. Working around the clock in several languages, they connect callers with an array of assistance referrals including child care, help with housing, heat and utilities, mental health counseling, legal aid and senior services.Mina said in 2013, staff handled about 90,000 calls from across the state – nearly 10 percent more than the previous year – and the Mass211 computerized system received 180,000 individual hits.On a cold Thursday afternoon, Ryan Spencer answered calls as part of an internship arranged with Framingham State University where he’s a senior psychology major.Considering a career in human services, he said many recent callers have been seeking fuel assistance while others who can't pay their rent are worried their housing problems will impact their children's education."Some people are frustrated and upset. I'm taking calls from a lot of people who seem to be experiencing more than one type of crisis, like housing, fuel assistance or job loss. You really get the sense they didn’t plan to be in this situation,’’ said the 24-year-old Natick resident.Spencer said about 30 percent of his callers are elderly people who have always worked and seem unfamiliar with the variety of available services.Since viewing "American Winter’’ as part of his training, Spencer said the movie’s subjects in Oregon and his Bay State callers are equally impacted, often with no warning, by problems caused by the recession."They really deserve help and respect,’’ he said. "Working these phones has made me realize it could be anyone. These people are you and I.''Contact Chris Bergeron at cbergeron@wickedlocal.com or 508-626-4448. Follow us on Twitter @WickedLocalArts and on Facebook.